Planning our Italian Honeymoon

Wedding planning is crazy and seems to be the only thing on my mind lately. So much so, that I often forget that we are taking a massive honeymoon the day after the wedding!

We are lucky enough that we were each able to take two weeks off of work following the wedding. We were brainstorming dream locations and debating somewhere warm (the Caribbean, Hawaii) or somewhere more touring-based (mainly, Europe). We were almost leaning towards Hawaii. Then, Sean’s dad offered us airline miles to pay for our flights, we both got approved for two weeks of leave to work, and we quickly booked flights to Italy.

We will be flying in and out of Rome (since we are using free miles) April 12 – 25th. Neither of us have been to Italy. I have been to Europe a few times, and did a study abroad student exchange in Tours, France in high school, but haven’t been there since 2007. So we are both slightly nervous and very excited.

We have planned a whirl wind of a trip. We are going to be seeing a lot of places in a short amount of time and that’s not for everyone. However, we followed a similar method on our trip to Yellowstone last summer and had a blast. We love being on the move, walking, hiking, exploring, and soaking in different cultures. I am SO excited for our adventure.

Here is our tentative itinerary – and I say tentative very loosely. We have booked our flights and have actually booked all of our hotel nights! We are using Air BnB for all of our stays (except Naples – Sean has a friend who lives there and we will be staying with them) and are really excited about it. I’ve heard great things and I think that staying in little apartments will really make us feel like we are a part of each town.

Saturday April 11th – get married in Charleston, SC.

Sunday April 12th – drive to Charlotte, NC. Fly overnight.

Monday April 13th – arrive in Rome. Catch a quick flight to Venice, arrive around 1pm. Sleep in Venice.

Tuesday April 14th – full day in Venice.

Wednesday April 15th – leave Venice for Lake Como. Sleep in Varenna.

Thursday April 16th – full day in Lake Como.

Friday April 17th – leave lake Como for Cinque Terre. Sleep in Riomaggiore.

Saturday April 18th – full day in Cinque Terre.

Sunday April 19th – leave Cinque Terre for Florence. Sleep in Florence.

Monday April 20th –  full day in Florence.

Tuesday April 21st –  leave Florence for Naples. Sleep in Naples.

Wednesday April 22nd – full day in Naples.

Thursday April 23rd – leave Naples for Rome. Sleep in Rome.

Friday April 24th – full day in Rome.

Saturday April 25th – fly home out of Rome.

We have Rick Steve’s guide to Italy. We have spoken to friends who have been there. We have done a lot of googling. We are still looking for tips and tricks, must see spots, and open to any suggestions. It’s funny that this is the trip of a lifetime, but it’s a bit overshadowed by our wedding the day before. I feel like it’s not getting it’s justice in pre-planning and pre-travel excitement.

Any advice, must sees, gotta dos, or can’t misses?